Posts: 43
Location: Roch NY | sled - 12/8/2008 11:24 AM
my choice would be the 4-stroke for these reasons:
- not enough performance gap to be a problem in-fact more impressed in performance than anything
- quieter ... that's something i notice outright and really like
- no thinking about oil and whether it's full or not and no mess or cleaning the fill areas
- assumption here but fuel economy and eliminating purchasing oil would be noticeable
the 2 stroke definitely have more torque at the same HP level= better holeshot. probably only matters if you're rigging with considerably less than the max HP for the boat though.
the oil fill is a non issue, the Merc DFIs at least sip oil so slowly and have a large enough tank that you only have to fill it like 1x per 30 hours. cant say I've had any issues with spillage either, maybe my hand is just steady 
Fuel economy is noticeably better with the DFIs than a comparable 4 stroke.
If you are a not in or near a large metro area, make sure that you consider the availability of *quality* authorized repair facilities. you don't want to be stuck driving for hours to get to one (or worse, only having one nearby that everyone goes to- you don't want to be out of commission for weeks waiting for them to get to your boat for repairs-summers are too short). And having qualified and competent mechanics is a key. the DFIs are not some run of the mill motor, and you don't want an 'I can fix anything' kind of guy working on it. In my expereince, even authorized dealers are not always knowledgeable about the motors they serve which is particularly important on the DFIs. check with other locals on their repair experiences first and factor that into the decision. |
